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Friday, August 13, 2010

Sweet Little Grilled Pizzas

Upon closing the cover of my latest food magazine I felt inspired to create. All those shiny close-ups and recipes get me every time. Skimming through each page, I gawk at the photos of perfectly assembled meals and lavish desserts and think, “oh, I want to make that, that, and that!” Of course, that’s the point--and I love that point. I wasn’t prepared to do anything too crazy or intricate; I just wanted to get into the kitchen, be in my Zen place, and make something.

Craving peaches, they were the number one ingredient I imagined for my yet-to-be-constructed recipe. Sadly, I found them to have already met their fate, secretly being consumed by mold in the dark underbelly of the fruit bowl. Sticking with the fruit idea, I fixed my gaze on the bowl of cherries sitting on the counter. Having tasted these cherries the night before, I was pretty unimpressed, but figured it was nothing a simmer in sugar water couldn’t help.

Grilled pizza was one of the images from the magazine that failed to escape me. And suddenly, I had it: sweet and savory mini pizzas or “pizzette.” I threw the pizza dough together from the top of my head. I call it “no-rise” because well, you know, it didn’t. It was a really nice dough though that ended up tasting good and working well for this dish. My boss always says, “There are no mistakes in the kitchen, only new recipes.” I provided the recipe just in case you’d like to try. Feel free to use your own, or even easier, just buy it. Not only is grilling the pizza dough fast, it also makes it crispy while imparting the flavor from the open flame.

Just like a regular pizza, I wanted to add a tasty topping. I mixed toasted walnuts with light brown sugar and melted butter for a cobbler-like blend. The syrupy cherries on top of the crust in addition to the sugary, toasted walnut crumble make up a sweet little toasty tart. It’s all topped off with goat cheese and honey—perfect, since apparently, August is national goat cheese month. So happy goat cheese to you! Enjoy.

Cherry Pizzette topped with Walnut Crumble, Goat Cheese, and Honey:

Yield: about 6 pizzette

Walnut Crumble:

- ¼ cup walnuts, toasted

- 1 Tbs brown sugar

- 1/8 tsp salt

- 1 tsp butter, melted

• Chop toasted walnuts and mix with brown sugar, salt and butter.

No-Rise Quick Pizza Dough: (or substitute your own/store bought)
Yield: about ½ pound ball of dough
- ½ cup flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbs/ 1 packet active dry yeast
- 4 Tbs warm water
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 Tbs olive oil
• Combine flour and salt in a stand mixer. In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and warm water and let stand for a few minutes; mix in sugar and olive oil.
• Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix on low speed until the dough forms and ball and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. Add extra flour if needed.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough ball out into a log with your hands and cut into 6 portions; flatten and shape into small rounds.

Cherry Topping: (sliced peaches or plums also make great toppings)
- ½ cup fresh cherries, pitted
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
• In a small sauce pot, simmer all ingredients together until thick and syrupy.

Garnish:
- Crumbled goat cheese
- Honey

Grilling and Assembling Pizzas:
• Place the mini pizza dough rounds directly onto a medium-high grill; when the uncooked side begins to bubble, turn the dough over and cook on the other side until nicely browned, crispy, and cooked throughout.
• Spoon cherry mixture on top of pizza dough and top cherries with walnut crumble. Garnish with goat cheese and a drizzle of honey.